Hamilton warned for baulking Sargeant, Mercedes fined

At the end of the opening day of the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, after hearing Hamilton's side of the story and assessing the evidence at hand, stewards ascertained: "Car 2 (Sargeant) had to take evasive action by going off the track to avoid a collision. Had that not been done, there would have been a serious, high speed crash.

"Having listened to the team radio, it was clear to us that the team of Car 44 failed to warn their driver of the fact that Car 2 was arriving on a fast lap.

That was a serious failure on the part of the team, particularly given the speeds on this circuit and the nature of turn 11, which is at the end of a series of high-speed corners where driver visibility is impaired. We therefore issue a warning to the driver and impose a fine of €15,000 to the team."

The incident happened during FP2 when Hamilton was not made aware of Sargeant speeding into Turn 11 with the Mercedes on the racing line.

Having met with both drivers after the session, the stewards found that Mercedes had failed to make Hamilton aware of the Williams approaching Turn 11 at high speed. Carlos Sainz's Ferrari in the mix exacerbated matters. Sargeant did well not to spear into the wall.